Movies from 1940

A Chump at Oxford (1940)

63 mins     Comedy      

"A Chump at Oxford" is the perfect example of what I love and dislike about Laurel & Hardy movies, I can't bring myself to say hate because how can you hate a Laurel & Hardy movie. What I love is that you get the variety when...

Arizona (1940)

125 mins     Western      

"Arizona" is the sort of western which was above average when it was made but never quite achieved the epic status that it possibly could have. And as such this becomes one of those westerns which does a better than usual job...

Bad Man from Red Butte (1940)

58 mins     Western      

"Bad Man from Red Butte" is an entertaining little Johnny Mack Brown which unsurprisingly is slightly heavier on the humour than you normally get. I say that because not only do we get some confusion comedy with Johnny Mack B...

Beyond Tomorrow (1940)

84 mins     Drama, Fantasy, Romance      

Beyond Tomorrow: one christmas three businessmen play matchmaker in two strangers life, but tragedy strikes for both the businessmen and the couple in love...

The Blue Bird (1940)

88 mins     Drama, Family, Fantasy      

Movie Review - The Blue Bird (1940) Shirley Temple, Spring Byington, Nigel Bruce, Gale Sondergaard, Eddie Collins, Sybil Jason, Jessie Ralph, Helen Ericson, Johnny Russell...

Boss of Bullion City (1940)

61 mins     Western      

I've watched a surprising number of these old one hour westerns and one thing I have come to realise is that if I find myself becoming distracted by other things such as Twitter it isn't necessarily because the western is bad...

Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940)

102 mins     Comedy, Musical, Romance      

I've not seen any of the earlier "Broadway Melody" movies but if they are anywhere near as good as "Broadway Melody of 1940" then they are going to be well worth a watch. To be honest "Broadway Melody of 1940" is a rather str...

Cherokee Strip (1940)

86 mins     Western      

"Cherokee Strip" which also goes by the name of "Fighting Marshal" is a bit of a curious western as it screams b-movie with it s familiar cast of western stars. Yet beneath the b-movie facade is a genuinely interesting storyl...

The Cowboy from Sundown (1940)

57 mins     Western      

Different cast but familiar characters is how many of these old oaters come across and you sort of find yourself wondering how they got away with. Take "The Cowboy from Sundown" which saw Tex Ritter in the hero cowboy role, a...

Curtain Call (1940)

63 mins     Comedy, Romance      

Before watching "Curtain Call" I read a few reviews to get some idea of what this forgotten movie is all about and the majority of them mentioned the similarities to "The Producers". In fairness mentioning "The Producers" and...

Dance, Girl, Dance (1940)

90 mins     Comedy, Drama, Musical      

There are various reasons to watch "Dance, Girl, Dance"; for me it was that it starred Maureen O'Hara, for others it will be that it features Lucille Ball whilst some might watch because they recognize the name Mary Carlisle....

Dark Command (1940)

94 mins     Western      

"Dark Command" is loosely based on the real life Confederate guerrilla leader William Quantrill but as with many movies it mixes fact with fiction to create this entertaining movie all about rivalry and jealousy as well as de...

Foreign Correspondent (1940)

100 mins     Mystery, Romance, Thriller      

"Foreign Correspondent" is one of the few movies which have lead me to have an argument with another reviewer as he praised the storyline yet when it came to another movie with a similar storyline called it preposterous. You ...

Gaslight (1940)

84 mins     Thriller      

For those who consider remakes a modern blight on the world of cinema should look at Patrick Hamilton's play "Gaslight" which he wrote in 1938. In 1940 it was made in to a movie of the same name yet only 4 years later it was ...

Hidden Gold (1940)

60 mins     Western      

An attractive woman, outlaws, stage coach robbery and a good guy with his sidekicks, "Hidden Gold" is ultimately just a typical western from 1940. It takes a storyline which had been done before and reworked it a little to fi...

His Girl Friday (1940)

92 mins     Comedy, Drama, Romance      

It would be a fair judgement to say that great movies never grow tiresome, you can watch them time after time and still get as much out of them as you did the very first time. Howard Hawk's "His Girl Friday" is one such movie...

Irene (1940)

101 mins     Comedy, Musical, Romance      

"Irene" is the sort of musical comedy which Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers could have made except they didn't instead we have Anna Neagle and Ray Milland doing a solid job in what is really a light weight movie. It is what it...

Kitty Foyle (1940)

108 mins     Drama, Romance      

To call "Kitty Foyle" a chick flick would be harsh but in a way it is with it's storyline about a Philadelphia girl who finds herself dealing with love, social snobbery, harsh real life and so much more. But it is in many way...

The Long Voyage Home (1940)

105 mins     Drama, War      

Whilst John Ford and John Wayne collaborated to give us some of cinema's biggest and most popular movies, they were not all purely star vehicles for John Wayne. One which wasn't a star vehicle was "The Long Voyage Home" which...

Lucky Partners (1940)

99 mins     Comedy, Drama, Romance      

Think of a modern romantic comedy, there is a very good chance that it works on the routine of boy meets girl, they fall for each other, but he loses her and has to try and win her back. That routine isn't new, take "Lucky Pa...